


Revelations

by 00Aredhel00



Series: The Serpent's Fate [2]
Category: Good Omens (TV), Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: Chronic Pain, Crowley Has Chronic Pain (Good Omens), Fluff, Ineffable Husbands (Good Omens), Love Confessions, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, it's not so bad in this story though, there's also a little snake that's not Crowley, you'll like him he's cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-31
Updated: 2019-07-31
Packaged: 2020-07-28 01:34:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20055868
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/00Aredhel00/pseuds/00Aredhel00
Summary: Following the events of "The Serpent's Fate", Aziraphale is waiting for Crowley to wake up. When Crowley finally does, it's just in time to lend a helpful hand.





	Revelations

**Author's Note:**

> I'm still overwhelmed by the great feedback for the first story in this series. Thank you so much :3 I hope you'll like this story, too. The next one will more angsty again, but this is mainly shameless fluff about two idiots in love and a snake in need of help :D

Three weeks had passed since the cancelled Apocalypse. During this time, Crowley had not been in the shop, but the angel had been in his flat. As the demon was sleeping, Aziraphale had watered the plants. A few times he had been tempted to open the door to Crowley’s bedroom, but he had not done that, he had not wanted to betray his friend’s trust like that.

Strictly speaking, he had not even had the permission to enter the flat itself, but he had wanted to help and after all he had seen how well cared for the plants were. So knowing that Crowley would not be able to take care of them for a while, he had let himself in a few times to at least ensure he wouldn’t wake up to the sight of withering leaves. 

Still, the angel felt terrible about never having noticed Crowley’s pain problem. It had been a shock to be in his body, something he had never experienced in his whole life. His legs and hips had seemed to be only made of pain, every movement had hurt, standing had hurt – waiting for the demons’ judgement in hell had been a small torture by itself – but sitting or lying down hadn’t helped much either. He couldn’t imagine how Crowley had been able to hide this for millennia and it broke his heart that this was his eternity, that there was nothing Aziraphale could do to make it better. He just hoped that if he really needed it, he would take Aziraphale’s offer and switch bodies once more.

The experience of being in Crowley’s body had been horrible and still his offer to take the pain upon himself again had been absolutely sincere and was not followed by regret. It was the only way Aziraphale could bring his friend at least a temporary relief and he would not hesitate a moment if asked. He just feared that Crowley’s pride and his unwillingness to confess weakness would stop him from accepting his help, let alone ask for it.

And there was another thing that weighed on Aziraphale’s mind: He had not given Crowley many reasons to trust him recently. The words he had thrown at him three weeks ago in the park, by the pavilion, haunted him to this day. 

“We’re not friends.”  
“I don’t even like you.”

As if that wasn’t enough, his actions had not been any better. He had been perfectly willing to accept information from the demon, but when he had found out who and where the Antichrist had been, he had not come to Crowley, as the other would undoubtedly have done. Still his loyalty to heaven had been stronger than the trust to the only one who actually deserved it, the only one who had never betrayed or demeaned him, as his fellow angels had done repeatedly. 

And still Crowley had come back, had seen the shop burn, had mourned him … 

He literally felt like the worst friend ever. 

And waiting for Crowley to come back, to keep looking to the door every time someone entered the shop, not to hear from him for weeks, not knowing how he was and how he would be when he finally woke up, made Aziraphale incredibly restless. 

Today, however, he had a little distraction.

Behind his shop he had found an adorable grass snake, a species quite common in England, but he had never seen one in London. Who knew how the animal had gotten here? That, however, wasn’t important. What was important was that the snake was in danger in the big city, so he had tried to catch it to keep it safe until he got the chance to set it free on the countryside. 

Maybe Crowley would drive him there in his Bentley when he was back.  
The snake, however, had had other plans, for it had vanished in a hole in a brick wall and despite Aziraphale’s best efforts, it had not come out. Usually, animals trusted him instinctively, but the snake seemed immune to his influence. 

So he had, feeling quite bad about it, set a life trap so it wouldn’t get away without him noticing and was now reading a book about snakes in the vague hope that something in there would help him to lure the little creature out of its hiding spot. 

To be able to concentrate on his rescue mission, he closed the shop for the day. 

And still it opened sometime around lunch time. 

“We are closed,” Aziraphale muttered distractedly without looking up from his book but when he got an answer, his head shot up immediately. 

“Never bothered me, angel.”

“Crowley! Oh my dear boy, I’m so glad to see you! How are you doing?”

“Good. Thanks for looking after my plans. Think you spoilt them, though.”

“Don’t mention it, dear,” Aziraphale beamed, ignoring the comment about spoilt plants. Surely he could not be expected to continue the reign of terror those plants were used to. 

Crowley was acting as always and Aziraphale knew that he would be uncomfortable with a big fuss about his … pains … and so the angel decided to act normally as well. 

“Closed for lunch? Can I join you?”

“I’d love to, dear. But I can’t right now. There’s something I must do first.”

“As long as it isn’t another Antichrist.”

Aziraphale laughed at the absurdity of that thought and shook his head. “Certainly not.”

“But don’t tell me you just gotta finish the book first. What is it anyway?” Before he could answer Crowley approached him with his usual, seemingly effortless saunter and lifted the book to look at the cover. ““Everything you need to know about Snakes”?” Half confused and half amused Crowley looked up at him through his usual sunglasses. 

The angel shifted his weight, slightly embarrassed, and raised his shoulders. “Well, yes, I quite hoped to find a way to catch a snake.” Crowley’s eyebrows rose even higher. He probably thought him crazy or, what was even worse, thought this book had something to do with him. Quickly, Aziraphale began to explain. “There’s a snake outside. The poor little guy is hiding in a hole and I can’t get him out. It’s dangerous for him in the middle of London. I don’t have the slightest idea how he even got here.” 

Crowley still looked amused, but there was some warmth in his expression now, a warmth he tried to hide by making it look like a scoff, but Aziraphale knew him better than that. 

“Where is he?”

“Outside. Behind the shop.”

Crowley went outside, where it was rather warm today. Probably one of the last really warm summer days. Again Aziraphale’s thoughts went back to what Crowley had told him three weeks ago. The pain would become worse with the cold. 

He forced himself to stop thinking about it for now and showed Crowley the hole the snake had vanished into. 

“A life trap?” He could hear the amusement in Crowley’s voice and rolled his eyes. 

“I had to stop him from running away … I mean … slithering away. Oh, you know what I mean.”

He hated not being able to be truly mad at Crowley, because right now, with the sarcastic smile on the demon’s face, he really wanted to be. 

“I know what you mean, angel. You don’t want me to drive him over.”

He watched as Crowley turned away, couldn’t help but notice how slowly he went down on one knee and winced slightly, remembering how painful movements like this had felt when he had been in Crowley’s body. Hopefully it wasn’t that bad anymore. Still he didn’t say anything. He watched how the demon removed the trap from the hole and held out his hand wordlessly. Almost immediately the thin brown snake crawled out and wrapped itself around Crowley’s arm and again Aziraphale winced slightly as Crowley got up just a tiny bit too slowly. 

But when the demon turned around to face him, Aziraphale smiled brightly and honestly. “Well, thank you, my dear. I was really worried about him.”

“Yeah, I could see that.” He held out his arm and this time the snake didn’t seem afraid at all. For a moment the tiny tongue flicked out, tickled the skin on Aziraphale’s hand and then the little creature slowly moved from Crowley’s arm to Aziraphale’s. 

The angel beamed at his friend. “Oh, how did you convince him to do that?”

“I speak Parcel.” At the angel’s confused look, Crowley groaned. “A fine book shop owner you are. So, what now? Wanna keep him in a tank and call him Nagini?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, dear, but no, I have no intention of keeping him. I will get him out of town to a nice place on the countryside as soon as I get the chance. You will like that, won’t you, you sweet little thing?”

When he turned back to Crowley, there was something in the way he looked at him Aziraphale couldn’t quiet grasp. “What is it, dear?”

“You don’t mind him at all, do you?”

“Mind him? Why on earth would I …” Aziraphale was well aware of the fact that he was sometimes a little slow on the uptake, but he knew Crowley better than he had wanted to admit even to himself for a long time and he was pretty sure he understood what the problem was. Since Eden he hadn’t seen his snake form. “I like snakes, dear. They’re beautiful.” He meant it. 

Crowley was silent for a moment, then he shrugged. “Whatever. Want me to drive you and Nagini here to his new home? Wherever that is. We can have dinner at the Ritz afterwards. We still haven’t celebrated the end of the end of the world.”

“Oh, dear, that would be lovely.” A moment’s hesitation, then Aziraphale spoke again, this time his voice was almost careful. “Are you up to it?”

And that had been a mistake. Crowley looked at him, obviously annoyed, his voice was impatient, maybe even slightly angry. “That’s exactly why I didn’t want you to know. I’m not an invalid, Aziraphale. I’m fine and I wouldn’t have offered if I wasn’t up to it.”

Guiltily Aziraphale lowered his gaze, his voice was quiet as he spoke. “I’m sorry, dear. I didn’t mean it like that, I know you’re not. An invalid, I mean. I just … it felt so horrible when I was in your body and I don’t want to cause you any more discomfort.” 

He didn’t look back up immediately, ashamed that he had done exactly what he had promised himself he wouldn’t: Treat Crowley differently than before, make him feel bad about his problem.

Suddenly he felt a hand under his chin, gently raising it up so that he had to look at Crowley once more. “Sorry, angel, I overreacted. I just … I don’t want you to treat me like a cripple. I can’t change it and neither can you. Don’t make it worse. Please.”

Aziraphale looked up again and felt a small pang of regret when Crowley’s hand left his chin. It had been nice to feel his touch. He had thought about how that would quiet often in the last few years. “I won’t bring it up again, I promise. But Crowley, one more thing … I won’t bring it up, but I want you to do it if need be. If I can ever help you in any way, please let me know. I won’t make a big deal out of it, but I … I just don’t want you to be alone with this,” he finished helplessly.

Crowley took a deep breath and looked at him, once more bringing some distance between them. Aziraphale just waited, gave him time to progress and dearly hoped that he trusted him enough to agree, not just verbally, not just in form of an empty promise with the sole purpose of shutting him up. 

“Ok. I have no idea why you’re being so damn stubborn, but …”

“Why? Because I care about you, you … fool. I’m sorry about what I said in the park. I didn’t mean any of it.” The angel himself couldn’t remember when he had last been so upset about something and it clearly took Crowley off guard. For once the demon actually shut up. “I care more about you than anyone else, be it angels, demons or humans. I … love you,” he finished so quietly that he wasn’t even sure Crowley had heard him, but he was absolutely sure that he hoped he hadn’t. 

The demon just stared at him, expression blank, eyes unreadable through the dark sunglasses.

Aziraphale started to regret his words. He had probably undone everything the two of them had shared for 6,000 years. Any moment now, the other would storm out in his typical dramatic fashion and he wouldn’t hear from him for years. Or never again, if he was unlucky.

But Crowley didn’t run. His voice was as quiet as Aziraphale’s when he had made his confession when he finally spoke again. “Did you mean that?”

Aziraphale gestured helplessly, then let his arms sink, raised them again, his mouth opening, just to close again when no words came out. He was so afraid to lose him now.

“Nagini will get sick, ya know.”

Nagini? He looked at Crowley in utter confusion and the demon nodded towards his arm. It finally came back to him and his eyes widened.

“Oh! I’m sorry.” The angel looked at the snake which was still wrapped around his arm – and was now probably holding on for dear life – apologetically. 

A very small smile formed on Crowley’s lips, more a twitch of the sides of his mouth, and he made a step towards Aziraphale. “Please, angel. Did you mean it?”

“Yes,” he finally managed, unable to lie any longer. “I’ve wanted to tell you for more than half a century, dear, but I never dared. I was afraid heaven and hell would disapprove, would not allow a us to be too close. But … I was even more afraid that you would disapprove. I’ve loved you since 1941, perhaps longer, but this is when I became aware …”

Another step towards him and Aziraphale felt his heart race and his mouth run dry. But the demon’s slender fingers just took his hand. It clearly wasn’t easy for him either, but still the words the angel heard next were absolutely sincere, spoken in a quiet voice, rough with emotion, maybe even trembling the tiniest bit. “And I’ve loved you since the very moment you told me you had given your fancy sword away.”

“My sword? But that was 6,000 years ago!”

“Exactly.”

\---

In the Bentley on their way out of town Aziraphale couldn’t even be upset about Crowley’s reckless driving. In fact, he didn’t even notice it. He was still reeling from the kiss they had shared, so gentle, still a little hesitant from both sides, but so full of feelings.

He had taken off Crowley’s sunglasses off so that he could see his eyes and he had looked at him with a mix of disbelieve, vague hope and so much sincere adoration that the angel had wanted to weep. Instead he had kissed him again and he had felt Crowley’s arms around him, had himself held him, had never wanted to let him go. 

Now they were sitting in Crowley’s beloved and thankfully restored car, on their way away from London to find Nagini a new home.

Neither of them spoke but it was a comfortable silence and when they were finally out of London – with Crowley confessing that the had subtly redesigned the M25 which was backfiring regularly and Aziraphale finding that absolutely hilarious – Crowley’s left hand let go of the stirring wheel and so very hesitantly took his. Smiling, Aziraphale’s closed his fingers around the demon’s, the small snake now curled up in his lap watching them lazily. 

They drove for about an hour, then Crowley stopped the car in the middle of nowhere. It was a nice place, no fields, no houses, just meadows with grazing sheep and a few trees here and there. They got out of the car and Aziraphale followed Crowley away from the road. They walked for quite a while until the demon stopped close to an old tree. There were a few rocks where the snake would be able to hide and it was far enough from the road to be reasonably sure Nagini was safe. “There, that should do it. He’ll like it here. Happy?” Crowley wore his sunglasses again, but still the angel could see the questioning look on his face when he turned towards him. 

He smiled brightly and nodded. “Yes, dear, thank you! That’s perfect.” He knelt down. The snake uncurled from his arm and immediately crawled towards one of the rocks which turned out to be the perfect spot for a sunbath. “Oh, you’re right, he seems to like it. Goodbye, Nagini!” He waved enthusiastically while Nagini didn’t pay too much attention to either of them anymore. 

When he looked at Crowley the demon was watching him with an amused but fond smile. His smiles – real smiles, not sarcastic ones – were so rare that Aziraphale’s grew even wider. He still couldn’t believe that this wonderful man loved him back, but deep down he knew. Crowley had shown him his love countless times throughout history. He couldn’t believe he had been so oblivious.

“I do believe you said something about the Ritz.”

“Yeah, I think I did. And I’m pretty sure a table is free for tonight.”

“Ah, is that so?” Aziraphale smiled knowingly “Let’s go then, my dear.”

With one last look at Nagini, who seemed quite content, he turned around and walked back towards the car.

About halfway there, he gathered his courage and stretched out his hand behind him, but Crowley didn’t take it. Turning around he realized that the demon was several steps behind him and he cursed himself for his stupidity. 

Sheepishly he waited for Crowley to catch up, stopped himself from apologizing for going so fast and not paying attention and took his hand instead while adjusting to his pace for the rest of the walk.

**Author's Note:**

> Nagini wasn't even planned, he just slithered into this story :D 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed! Please tell me what you think, comments and kudos are very much appreciated :3


End file.
